In the Gospel we heard, “Jesus
rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent
and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious
will.’”

As Jesus was saying this, he was full
of JOY! We read He Rejoiced in the Holy Spirit!! Joy as we know is one of the first
fruits of the Spirit.

Today we are gathered here to witness
and to celebrate the final vows of a woman who I can best describe as a person
of Joy. Jesus was filled with joy, Luke tells us. Luke also writes in Acts 13: 52 that the
disciples too were filled with joy of the Holy Spirit. Sr. Anastasia since I
first met her, a number of years ago has been, for me and for so many others,
many of whom are here today, a person of joy. Real Joy!!

Mother Mary Joseph, the foundress of
Maryknoll Sisters, would be proud of how this Good Sister has made God’s Love Visible. She has made God’s Love Visible
here in Hong Kong….with prisoners, with migrants, with people attending
seminars, with those who are suffering and those who are in need. She has made
God’s Love Visible in the Mainland….in Shenzhen and in other places. She has
made God’s Love Visible to all she has met.

So on the Feast of Saint Therese in
the Church of Saint Therese, we are here today for the final vows and we too
are full of joy. Saint Therese of the
Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, is one of the most beloved
saints. She believed that she did not
have much to offer to God, except love.

She felt lowly and small and, in many
ways, she was. She was truly a simple
person. Sr. Anastasia, I hope you will
continue to be joyful, simple and share your great love for God with
others. Let St. Therese be one of your
guides!

In the first reading today, the Book
of Job, we know that we’re introduced to a number of individuals who think they
know a lot more than they really do.
Take Job’s friends, for example.
They think they know everything.
They certainly have God and his ways all figured out. They have no problem explaining everything to
Job. Of course, they did not know what
they were talking about. Job, on the
other hand, knew what they were saying was wrong but he still wondered why God
has allowed his misery. On more than one
occasion, he challenges God to explain himself.
In the end, Job admits that he has been dealing “with great things
that I do not know, I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I
cannot know.” God’s ways are simply
not our ways; God’s thinking is not our thinking. Job has come to the beginning of wisdom –
when he realizes that his knowledge is as nothing before the Lord.

Like Job, Sr. Anastasia has learned
much during her years of formation…the words of Job could be her own after
hearing the call, responding to the call, living in community and experiencing
the Lord at work in mission. She could echo the words of Job:

I know that you can
do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;
things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

Sister Anastasia, the work that our
Lord has begun in you, he will surely see through to the final day! If I could
offer you one piece of advice, only one piece of advice, I will say this, as a
sister, Pray, pray, and pray, never stop praying. And I hope and I pray…that in this great
church full of people who hope and pray with me, that God will continue to bless
with peace, happiness and fulfillment in all that you do. I pray that the Joy
so many of us have witnessed in your ministry as a Sister will be experienced
by many many many more people in the years to come. The Joy, you have, is contagious! That Joy is
healing! That Joy is refreshing! That Joy makes God’s Love Visible.

(There are translation in Indonesia and simplified chinese in between the paragraph in English.)Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, with gratitude, I express my sincere thanks to God, and to all who have walked with me, in my journey to be a Maryknoll Sister, especially for my Maryknoll Sisters China region and around the world, my family: my mother and two sisters from Indonesia are here with us today, benefactors and friends gathered here, those who are not able to come but pray and say Masses for me from afar.

This picture, which was placed at the front of the altar, was taken candidly eleven years ago when I started to think about my vocation. I resigned from my job, and had the formation with Maryknoll Sisters starting 2007. Two years later, I made my first vows and then was assigned to China Region. I studied Putonghua and started to help at Holy Family Church Shenzhen and other places besides visiting inmates, helping a financial literacy program and several workshops in Hong Kong. During the eleven years of discernment, I experienced so many holy coincidences through so many people and events. I agree on what Mother Mary Joseph said, “There is nothing more astonishing than life, just as it is, nothing more miraculous than growth and change, just as revealed to us. And as happens so often when we stop to regard God’s work, there is nothing to do but wonder and thank God.”